Léna and Dan are much more than a couple in life: together, they've known how to combining equestrian passion and professional collaboration. He, a professional rider, and she, an influencer and communications expert, have created a complementary duo on the showgrounds and in their everyday lives. How do they manage to balance their relationship with their career in the demanding world of equestrian sport?

Discover how this couple transforms challenges into opportunitiesand their tips for those who wish to combine love and professional ambitions.

1 Can you tell us about the first time you met and how your romantic relationship evolved into a successful professional/sports partnership?

We're both very passionate, very much in love with horses. We complement each other quite well. As everyone says, we're both a bit tic et tac. He is water and I am fire.

And in sports, we have the same values and same desires. We manage to mix personal, professional and sport. So it's really a pleasure."

2. 3 words to describe your relationship?

Léna I'd say love, passion and sport."

3 - Dan, how has Léna's communications expertise changed your approach to developing your image and partnerships?

"Léna helped me a lot with the whole communication thing, because I wasn't very good at it. So she really shared his experience in this sector.

She gave me some great content, which inevitably brings brands and partners. And I'm really realizing how important social networking really is. It's really important for everything: the business, our partners, Contacts, ...

So, beyond bringing me his experienceit's really something very important for my developmentquite simply."

4 - Léna, what have you learned from Dan about managing competitions and training horses?

"I was able to discover a different vision of horses and riding in itself. As far as contest management is concerned, I'm really learning to enjoy myself. I know that Dan's motto before I entered the ring was "Léna, make yourself happy".

Treat yourself while respecting the well-being of horses. We take them out a lot and look after them all day long. When we feel they're getting a bit tired, we take care of them, we adapt their work. We try to do our best so that the rider-horse pairing is as good as possible.

What's also very important in the equestrian world is theprofessional aspect. It's completely different from what I knew before. I went from a Club 2 (85cm) to an amateur 1.10m Grand Prix.

Everything I see with Dan is different: the training, the management of the horses, the beautiful competitions. It's this side that I've discovered and that I love, especially with him. It's really an example for me in the professional equestrian world."

5 - Dan, how have you seen Léna evolve thanks to your training advice and the opportunities you've given her in competition/riding in general?

"Léna I really saw it evolve on several points, including on the psychological side. Now she takes a lot more fun to ride. Then, it's true that in four months, she went from jumping 90 cm to jumping 1.10 metres without a fault, classified. From pony to horse, from club to amateur, it's already a real achievement. big change. Gracieuse, it was a great opportunity for her. I entrust her with my mare, and the pair work very well together.

After that, she's learning a lot technically, and very quickly. With all the daily advice, going to competitions and seeing professional riders all the time, it helps a lot. She's really progressed thanks to that."

6 What challenges have you faced as a couple in both your personal and professional lives, and how have you tackled them together?

Léna The biggest challenge we faced at the beginning was time, managing people and horses. Especially because before, my pony was the opposite of where Dan is. It was a real challenge because he was with his horses all the time. Of course he found time for me, but his priority was the horses, which I quickly realized.

Now we manage to find compromises. After that, we're both very passionate, so it's easier too. Dan, instead of finishing at 10:00 pm, he would try to finish at 8:00 pm to have a bit of time for me. We go to little restaurants, but we try to keep our non-horse activities going at least once a week. And that's good, it's that's why our relationship works today.."

7 How has your relationship influenced your approach to equestrian sport and your joint projects?

Dan Léna's life was a little more "traditional" at first. She went riding on Saturdays, or even a few times a week. The rest, she had a 'normal' life compared to us riders. And it's true that now, she projects herself much more with me with the idea of one day having a structure, customers, doing high-level work and doing it all the time."

Léna It's true that now I'm in this business with Dan, it makes you want to have projects in horses. Dan has a breeding operation and foals. As a joint project, I said to him, "I'd love to help you with the pre-breeding, to accompany you in this. I'd like to set up an Instagram page for you - King Kong breeding.

These are all joint projects in the horse world. Just like in 10 years' time, having a structure and commercial horses. Now we're taking our time, we're still young."

8 Can you share a particularly memorable moment or important achievement you've experienced together in the course of your work and your passion for this sport?

Dan "One of our biggest successes was when we got here. third in the French championship with Flirt. And Léna was with me, of course. This is completion of work performedbecause I hadn't had it very long either.

And then, if I can tell you another great success story, it was something likequite moving Léna, her first courses. It's a very simple thing, but when she managed to do its first rankingsWe were all very moved.

Léna Yeah, it was so cute. As for the French championships, the moment that really stood out for me was when you stood on the podium and I was able to go with you. It was really a magical moment. We spend all our time with the horses and when there are achievements like that, we're happy. I was like Dan, in my mind I'd also finished third in the championship. And he when I was doing my first amateur contests, he was as stressed as I wasHe does competitions all the time. So we're really here for each other."

9 - How have you managed to balance your love and professional lives while pursuing your sporting and personal goals?

Léna I have a very busy schedule. I'm doing a Master 1 sandwich course and creating content for social networks. It's a question of balancing my love life, continuing to pursue my sporting goals with Gracieuse and my professional goals with the networks.organization.

We very rarely have days where we do nothing, it's never happened to me in the eight months we've been together. We regularly get up at 6:00, 6:30 or even 7:00 when we're lucky, and finish our days around 10:00 or 11:00. When he's at school, I try to be there for the horses. I try to come a little earlier, do the stalls, help him a bit. And vice versa. It's really give and takeHe helps me, as I help him."

Dan : "Yes it wasn't easy at first. I had to realize that for me, horses were really what I wanted to do, and that unfortunately, you can't make too many concessions if you want to get there. But you quickly understood and we help each other achieve our goals."

10: What advice would you give to couples who want to combine their personal and professional lives, particularly in the field of sport?

Léna "The advice I would give to couples is the communication. Because Dan, like me, has a very busy schedule, we had to make some changes. concessions. And I think it takes loveit takes a little passion.

What's really important is thata person doesn't shy away from doing something or vice versa. You really have to keep doing what you love and be on the ball. same wavelength with his partner. If I was with someone who didn't have the same vision of horses at all, it certainly wouldn't work."